No, your eyes are not deceiving you. Tom Ford, whose collections have been shown only in private viewings for the past two years – no catwalk photographs, no tweeting, no nothing, until the clothes are in stores – has agreed to give you, dear Guardian readers, an exclusive look at two exits from his spring/summer 2013 collection. Ye who have been starved of Ford: feast your eyes.

Ford does everything his own way. Take his LFW presentation: a private salon viewing, talking bondage knots with an urbane American millionaire. More Fifty Shades than your usual front-row chit-chat. The theme of the collection is chastity and perversion, after all. Bondage-style boots (there is a zip up the back, thankfully, otherwise they'd be a right faff at airport security) are worn with simple skirts and cosy sweaters. Fishscale sequins have a soft, plush shimmer and cocktail dresses offer a genuine jaw-drop moment with a scooped-out rear view.

When I commented to Ford that the clothes were not as pervy as the title suggests, he looked a little put out, and pointed out a swimsuit with a bottom completely bare, save for a vertical "jockstrap". That shut me up. But then, you never know what to expect from Tom. After I wrote a critical report of a previous collection he summoned me to Claridge's, bought me cocktails and thanked me for my candour. Ford is a one-off.

Is there a downside? Yes. The clothes are ruinously expensive. Seriously. You don't even want to know. But at least this time, you get to look at the picture.

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__________________we are the music makers, we are the dreamers of dreams. wandering by lone sea breakers and sitting by desolate streams. world losers and world forsakers, on whom the pale moon gleams. yet we are the movers and shakers of the world for ever it seems

Ugh, again with the "he lives in 2004" mumbo-jumbo (as if 2004 is somehow a different era). Why, because he doesn't care about what the hipper-than-thou are wearing on the street? Because he doesn't show every single one of his collections with what's meant to look like dirty bed hair and no makeup? Because as opposed to looking intentionally disheveled or quirky it's pulled together and done?

AND the judgement's being offered after seeing four looks, three of which are extremely unlike his usual fare (bike shorts, hoodies, boxy knitwear).

If he's stuck in 2004 I'd be happy to stay stuck with him, because fashion was a hell of a lot more fun and fabulous back then.

Tom Ford lives in 2004, she needs to brink fashion forward, he keeps doing the same every season, it's beautiful, yes, but that's not enough.
I feel like he's overrated.

You don't know what you're talking about. I mean do you even remember what HE was doing in 2004? The look of that era was boho chic and he barely touched that. He was and is still all about luxe glamour. Nothing about what we've seen so far is even close to that era.

I like that he "lives in 2004" or whatever. Honestly, it's kind of refreshing to see a designer not changing one's style because it's not in vogue any more. And yes, 2004 was a great period for fashion.